


What Everything's For

by carolinecrane



Series: down is where we came from [9]
Category: Glee
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-23
Updated: 2010-09-23
Packaged: 2017-10-12 03:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/120154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He's seriously going to kill Puck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Everything's For

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Now I Have Everything" from the _Fiddler On the Roof_ soundtrack. Hey, it was that or If I Were A Rich Man.

Finn doesn't land the lead role in _Fiddler On the Roof_. Not that he expects to, considering Tevye's a lot older than him and there are plenty of talented guys in the right age range in their theater group. He's fine with playing Perchik; it's a decent-sized role, but it's not so big that he'll have trouble keeping up with his school work.

And okay, he was sort of hoping for Motel, mostly because he's been looking forward to singing "Miracle Of Miracles", but when Will said, "I just can't see you playing someone so...clumsy," and insisted that he should be playing the dashing, star-crossed Bolshevik lover instead, well...it was kind of tough to argue. Or maybe he just didn't want to argue when Will grinned at him and sort of called him 'dashing'.

Then again, it could have been watching Will's mouth move as he said the word 'lover'.

It's kind of a breach of etiquette, telling Finn he's got the role before the list goes up, but Will's always treated him a little differently than everyone else in the group. Finn's always figured it was because of Glee, but lately...lately he's been letting Puck mess with his head, which is pretty pathetic, considering it's been years since he laid eyes on the guy.

Finn shakes his head as he walks into the theater where Will's holding tryouts. The girls are up today and technically Finn could have skipped them and found something better to do with his time, like studying for finals. But he likes to watch the tryouts, to get a feel for who might be working opposite him and what her style is.

He barely takes two steps into the theater before Will's waving him over, a wide smile on his face and patting the seat next to him in the second row. Finn thinks he should probably keep his distance, maybe wave and nod toward the back of the theater where he can sit by himself. At the very least he could leave an empty seat between them, just to be sure nobody gets the wrong idea.

Instead he throws himself down in the seat right next to Will and props his feet up on the seat in front of him. "Hey."

"Well if it isn't Lima Theater Troupe's own Perchik," Will says, leaning in to whisper like they've got a secret, and yeah, okay, they kind of do, but Finn isn't sure why it makes his stomach feel all weird. "Come to check out your potential leading ladies?"

Finn just shrugs and tries not to blush too hard at Will. "Figured maybe you could use the company is all."

The smile that gets him makes it worth his trip, he thinks, until he realizes he's perving on _Mr. Schuester's_ smile, and he is going to _kill_ Puck when he gets back to town. Well, he's going to come as close as he can to killing Puck without making Kurt hate him forever, anyway.

"Thanks, Finn," is all Will says, then he reaches out and pats Finn's leg, right up near his knee, and Finn's not sure if that's a gay thing or if it's just a 'hey isn't it cool that I'm not your teacher anymore so we can be buds now' thing. In his defense, he played a lot of football in high school. The physical contact lines tended to get a little blurred.

He's saved any further humiliation when Will calls the first girl out -- after he pulls his hand back, thank God, and Finn hopes he plans to keep those things to himself from now on -- and the music queues up. She's okay, but she's not great or anything, and Finn can tell just by watching Will's face that she's going to end up in the chorus.

He tells himself that his skill at reading Will's expressions comes from years of being in Glee. It's not like he spends a lot of time studying Will's profile, anyway, at least not that he's ever noticed before. Still, it's a pretty nice profile, objectively speaking. Even he can admit that.

"Thanks," Will says, and for one panicked second Finn thinks he actually said that out _loud_ , but when he realizes Will's smiling all tight-lipped at the stage, he relaxes.

The first girl takes the hint and vacates pretty quickly, and Finn drags his attention away from Will's profile long enough to watch the next girl come out. It's that chick Will's been flirting with lately, the one with the long brown hair and the tight sweaters. Finn's cheeks burn and he sinks a little lower in his seat, angling a little closer to Will without really meaning to.

"What do you think of Angela?" Will asks, not quite glancing at Finn, and he swallows an irrational surge of...something at the fact that Will can't even stop looking at her long enough to give Finn his attention. "She's got the right look for Tzeitel, don't you think?"

"Sure, I guess. Only she's kinda...."

"What?"

"Well, isn't she a little _too_ pretty?"

Will laughs at that, finally taking his eyes off Angela and her big-ass mouth as she belts out one of the power ballads from Les Mis. He's grinning at Finn again, and up close Finn notices the way his dimples like, _frame_ his lips.

"Yeah, I guess she's a little too good to fall for the tailor. She's too old to play Hodel, though, and she's got a decent voice. Seems like a shame to put her in the chorus."

"She could play Golde," Finn suggests, keeping his eyes on the stage so he won't lose it and start laughing or something. "You know, age her up a little, put some powder in her hair. Get wardrobe to tone down the rack."

Will barks out a laugh that's all surprise, and Finn risks a glance to his right. When he catches Will's eye he can't help grinning, because hell, _he_ put that smile on Will's face. But he can tell Will's considering his suggestion, too, and somehow that makes him feel...well, important.

"You know, that's not the worst idea I've ever heard. We don't really have a strong candidate for Golde."

After that Finn can appreciate Angela's voice a lot more, and when Will smiles and thanks her he doesn't have to swallow another surge of whatever. Instead he stretches out in the chair a little, planting his feet on the floor and letting one of his knees float dangerously close to Will's.

The next girl Will calls out is pretty bad, and Finn winces when she tries and fails to hit a high note. She's got chorus written all over her, and that's only because they technically can't sideline any of the members. The girl after her isn't that great either, but she's pretty easy on the eyes, so Finn half expects Will to consider her for a role, maybe as one of the younger daughters. Instead he just leans toward Finn halfway through her song, dropping his voice so she won't hear them and figure out they're ignoring her.

"So have you thought any more about grad school?"

Finn shrugs, something warm surging through him when he feels Will's breath against his cheek. He tells himself it's just because it's been so long since he's seen any action that didn't involve his right hand, and he'd probably get turned on by a strong breeze right now.

"A little. Figured I'd put off making a decision until after Christmas. Kurt's coming home, you know."

"Oh yeah?" Will says, grinning again and it shouldn't bug Finn that he's grinning like that at the mention of Finn's brother. "How's L.A. treating him?"

"The jury's still out on that one," Finn answers. "He's bringing his boyfriend home with him."

"Oh?" Will says, and Finn can't tell if he sounds surprised or uncomfortable or what. "Someone you know?"

"Someone we both know," Finn says, shaking his head and he can't believe he's about to say it out loud to somebody other than Quinn. Like if he says it to Will, that makes it undeniably true. "He's been dating Puck for the past three months."

"Puck? As in...Noah Puckerman?"

"The one and only."

Will's still staring at him, mouth hanging open, when the girl on stage finishes, and Finn has to elbow him in the arm to get him to focus on her. "Thanks," Will calls out, and it's a good thing he's an actor, because he manages to pull it together long enough to call the next girl out.

They let her get going on her song before Will turns back to him, leaning close again and practically hissing the words against Finn's skin, and man, that should not be as hot as it is.

"Kurt Hummel and Noah Puckerman. How...is that even possible?"

"Search me," Finn says. "Burt went out to visit in October, said they seemed really happy. I guess Puck's changed since high school."

"He would have had to."

Will leans back in his seat, but he's still looking at Finn, just staring and blinking every so often, like he's waiting for the punchline.

"I called Kurt a few days ago and Puck picked up," Finn says, glancing at the stage as he says it. The girl who's singing isn't bad, and she's got the right look for Hodel. He makes a mental note and turns back to Will. "He says they're going to get married."

It feels kind of nice not to be the last person to know something for once, but when he sees the look on Will's face he sort of wishes he'd waited until after rehearsal to fill him in. Only they never hang out after rehearsal; Will's never invited him out for coffee or to run lines or whatever, and Finn figures that no matter what he says, he'll always think of Finn as just one of his students.

So Puck can stick his theories somewhere Finn doesn't want to think about, basically.

"You're kidding."

Finn shrugs again as the girl onstage finishes up, hitting the high note in a way that would make Rachel Berry froth at the mouth. When she's done he glances over, but Will's still staring at him like Finn's the one who just proposed, so Finn waves at the girl and thanks her.

"I think that was your Hodel, by the way," he says once she's gone, and he's not sure if it's the sound of his voice or the mention of the play that does it, but Will clears his throat and pulls himself together long enough to make a note on his list, then he summons another victim onto the stage.

After that Will pays attention to the auditions for awhile, head tilted to show just how interested he is and flashing a polite smile and a 'thanks' after every performance. They run through two potential Tzeitels and another possible Hodel before Will so much as looks at him again, and Finn's totally not pouting about Will basically ignoring him, because he's not some chick.

When Will does look at him it's right in the middle of another audition, some new girl Finn hasn't met yet and she can't be more than thirteen. She's got a sweet, clear voice, kind of high and mesmerizing, and he doesn't notice Will leaning in to talk to him again.

"What do you think of her for Chava?"

Finn jumps at the sound of the voice so close to his ear, his face heating up and he's glad it's sort of dark in the theater. "Uh...yeah. She's, uh, she's good."

Will smiles at him and turns back to the stage just as she's finishing her song, and Finn takes a deep breath and orders himself to get it together. Because okay, maybe, possibly he's a tiny bit less than straight, but he is _not_ suddenly gay for Will just because Puck says so. Even if he was -- which he's not -- he could never do anything about it, because Will would just give him that sad smile and sit him down and let him down gently, like he's still the teacher and Finn's got some lame schoolgirl crush.

And the only thing worse than Will never speaking to him again would be Will giving him the 'I'm flattered, but' speech and then being all weird with him until Finn has to drop out of theater group and, like, die of humiliation. The only upside of which would be that at least he wouldn't have to make a decision about grad school.

When the last girl finally finishes Finn expects Will to get up, maybe thank Finn for hanging out and tell him he'll see him at the first rehearsal. Instead Will looks up from his list, then he kind of sways forward and puts his hand on Finn's arm and says, "Can you hang around for a few minutes?"

Finn's not dumb enough to try to talk, so he just nods and shifts in his seat as Will stands up and heads backstage to let the girls know when the list will be up. It's the same speech he gave the guys after their auditions, right before he pulled Finn aside and told him he was dashing. Or whatever.

Finn blushes all over again and stands up, makes sure nobody's looking before he does a quick adjustment, then climbs the stairs that lead to the stage. He wanders over to the piano, flipping through the score until he finds "Now I Have Everything". And it's a pretty good song, even if he does sort of share it with whoever Will casts as Hodel, so he's not complaining about his part.

He's humming the tune to himself, trying out a few of the runs under his breath, when Will walks back onto the stage. He crosses to the piano and sets his notes from the auditions down, scanning them before he looks up at Finn.

"So if we cast Angela as Golde, and...Marnie as Hodel? She's the one you liked."

Finn shrugs, because he's not sure 'like' is the right word, but she's probably the best pick of the girls they saw today.

"Okay," Will says, looking back down at his notes. "So what do you think about Tzeitel? It's a big role, so we need someone who can act. Jennifer's got a better voice, but..."

"But that Erica chick can act circles around her," Finn finishes for him. "Anyway, it's not like she has a big solo or anything. I mean, there's "Matchmaker", but Marnie and that other girl, the one with the voice. They can carry her."

"Yeah," Will says, looking up again to grin at Finn, and Jesus Christ, his fucking heart skips a beat.

For awhile Will just stands there grinning at him, but before Finn embarrasses himself by making a break for it, or worse, opening his mouth and saying something dumb, Will says, "Have you thought at all about teaching theater?"

"What?"

"I'm serious, Finn. I know you've been struggling with the direction you want to go in education, and I still think you'll be a great teacher no matter what you decide. But you're really good at this," he says, gesturing at the list in front of him. "All the casting decisions you've made today make perfect sense. Take casting Angela as Golde...it's not obvious. I sure didn't think of it."

Finn blushes, but he knows he's not going to be able to wipe the grin off his face, so he doesn't even try. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Will smiles again, and this time Finn's not even surprised at what it does to his stomach. "Just think about what I said. And thanks for the help today. You keep it up and I'll have to give you assistant director credit."

Finn absolutely does not spend the entire drive home picturing his name printed next to Will's on the program.


End file.
